For Vikings defensive backs coach Joe Woods, there is no mystery about the path Xavier Rhodes will walk this season.

There will be flashes of brilliance and lapses in consistency for the rookie, teachable moments and correctable mistakes. Woods went through it with Chris Cook in 2010 and Josh Robinson in 2012.

Though they weren’t first-round draft picks.

The Vikings drafted Rhodes 25th overall this year — the highest they’ve taken a cornerback since 1994. They need him to help replace Antoine Winfield, released after 10 seasons in Minnesota. Even with Winfield, the Vikings were just 24th in the league against the pass last season.

They play in a division with the league’s single-season record holders for receiving yards (Detroit’s Calvin Johnson) and passer rating (Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers) and another wideout who has surpassed 100 catches four times in seven seasons (Chicago’s Brandon Marshall).

Rhodes’ physical style could help, but how quickly?

“For me, I think your first year as a rookie, you’re learning football,” Woods said. “You’re learning the speed of the game, you’re learning to adjust to things that offenses do. When you come back the second year, things should be more familiar. You shouldn’t make the same mistakes you made the first year. That second or third year, that’s when you really see what guys are.”

Rhodes fits the mold of a modern NFL corner. He measured 6 feet 1 and weighed 210 pounds at the NFL scouting combine, where his vertical leap was measured at 40.5 inches and ran the 40-yard dash in 4.44 seconds. With Rhodes, Cook and A.J. Jefferson, three of the Vikings’ top four corners are 6-1 or taller, and they could jam big receivers such as Marshall and Johnson more often.

“When you have a big guy that can smother receivers outside, whether you’re playing (Cover) 2 or press, it’s kind of the same thing,” Woods said. “Our matchups are a lot better when you have a guy that can physically handle some of those guys.”

The Vikings have used Rhodes in nickel packages during organized team activities, though he has seen some time in the base defense. He likely will compete with Robinson for the starting spot opposite Cook.

Rhodes played in other schemes in college but spent most of his time locking on to one receiver, using his size to disrupt his opponent’s timing; he’ll have to do more than that in the NFL. And like many young corners, he’ll have to learn to play the position with his feet and not just his hands.

In that sense, Rhodes said, the lack of contact in OTAs has helped.

“This phase right now is helping me out with playing off (receivers), being non-physical,” he said. “It’s helped me be a more versatile corner. But when you watch film, you’re going to see that (jamming receivers) is one of my best assets. I don’t have to say that.”

For now, Rhodes already has impressed the cornerback who figures to start at the other corner.

“He’s willing to learn,” Cook said. “Those are the good things I see about him, especially him being a first-round guy. Some first-round guys come in cocky and don’t want to listen to things, but he’s a good listener. He asks questions. He wants to get better, and he tells me what he thinks he needs to work on.”

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